LexisNexis | Law Made Initiatives

Two initiatives currently under development.

Law School Road Show

“21st Century Legal Services and the T-Shaped Professional”

Monday April 24th marked an exciting day in legal education. LexisNexis Canada, a leading provider of legal content and technology solutions and Law Made, a global entity founded by the prior founders of LegalX at MaRS, delivered the inaugural roadshow presentation of “21st Century Legal Services and the T-Shaped Professional” to law students, lawyers and faculty members at the University of Toronto.

The presentation marked the first of a series of presentations which will follow at Canadian and U.S. law schools in the upcoming 2017-2018 academic year. Recognizing that 21st century demand for traditional lawyers and legal services is greatly exceeded by the supply of lawyers and law students, there is a significant and timely need for innovation not only in the legal profession but in legal education.

The 21st Century legal professional is one that offers a broad “T-shaped” skill set beyond the “I-shaped” lawyer (limited to traditional, linear training in black letter law and bespoke legal services) which is purposed to provide broader access to legal support for people and companies in a comprehensive, collaborative, solutions-oriented way.

Jason Moyse (Co-Founder of Law Made) inspired and guided law students through the “T-shape” skill set, which builds upon the “I-shape” by adding breadth in adjacent areas including design-thinking, data science competency, computer code and development and project management. Also included in the “T-shape” are entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial skills that enable legal professionals to provide services in ways that avoid waste, comprehensively account for client needs and are delivered with agility and flexibility.

“It was a great opportunity to expose the audience to industry content that they might not be getting in the academic setting” – Jason Moyse

Students also enhanced their understanding of the impact of technology by learning how Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and augmented Artificial Intelligence are changing the way legal services are provided and are creating room for productized, efficient and accessible options for clients. In closing, Moyse encouraged students with a practical call to action to seek out and explore experiential learning opportunities and build their “T-shaped” knowledge outside of the classroom.

Innovation Academy

In addition to the Innovation Roadshow, LexisNexis and LawMade will be launching the LexisNexis Law Made Innovation Academy which will further support the development of 21st Century T-Shaped Legal Professionals by providing a curriculum focused on 1-on-1 coaching, training and networking support for aspiring innovators, entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, and will kick-off later this year.